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Friday, February 3, 2012

This is the pud I made for Marc's birthday dinner on Wednesday. It's really two recipes and you definitely don't need to make both together (although it is a good combination!).

I remember buying cinder toffee from Darwen market with my Grandpa when I was little - the stuff there was chocolate coated, which you could do with this homemade version too. To stop the cinder toffee melting, the easiest way to do this is by drizzling melted chocolate over the set toffee.

Both the cinder toffee, also known as honeycomb or hokey pokey apparently, and the chocolate pots are very quick and easy to make and can be made in advance. I had a hard time not scoffing all the cinder toffee before the big day though - be warned!

Put caster sugar and golden syrup into a heavy bottomed saucepan. Roughly mix. Turn heat on to medium and let the caster sugar and syrup melt. You can gently swirl if necessary but you mustn't stir once on the heat.

Once the mixture has melted, cook for a further 3-4 minutes until bubbly and golden brown.

Take off the heat and immediately add the bicarb of soda. Whisk together. The mixture should fluff up into a golden cloud. Pour into your pre-prepared baking tray and leave to set. Break into pieces once set.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

So, happy (very belated) New Year! I hope you're all having a good start to 2012.

After a really excellent festive period, split between Wiltshire with my parents and Portugal with Marc's it was back to earth with a bump for me, as I faced a mountain of Uni work. Three weeks later and I've emerged blinking into the daylight and am making a return to social media. Miss me?!

January's such a miserable month that it's nice to treat yourself to some hearty comfort food. This recipe for veggie cottage pie is a real winter-warmer. It's going to wrap you up in a big warm snuggle and make you forget all about the grey day outside.

The cheesy parsnip and sweet potato mash is also really delicious on its own (try not to scoff it all before you top your pie with it!) and would work well as a side-dish.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Merry Christmas all. Hope Father Christmas brought you everything you wanted and you enjoyed some quality time with friends, family and several boxes of mince pies.

With the festive season not quite over yet (phew!), lots of people this year seem to be planning to celebrate New Year's Eve with a party at home. So, for those of you who need some ideas for nibbles or a buffet, I thought I'd share my smoked mackerel pate recipe.

This couldn't be easier; it's ready in about two minutes and tastes delicious. Ideal served with crusty bread for a starter, on mini crackers as a canape, or with crudites for a buffet.

Method:
Remove the skins from the smoked mackerel fillets. These peel off really easily.

Put mackerel, soured cream, double cream and horseradish into a blender. Blitz for 30 seconds to a minute - the consistency is up to you but I prefer mine with a little bit of texture, not completely smooth.

Taste and add lemon juice and pepper as required.

The pate will keep for a couple of days covered in the fridge, so you make well in advance of your party.

*If you have any spring onions or parsley that need using up, you can add them when you blend the ingredients.

**This recipe is fairly foolproof and you don't need to be exact with ingredients. If you prefer you could use Greek yoghurt instead of sour cream.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

They might not be very traditional but I think oysters make the perfect starter over Christmas. When you're eating so much rich food, oysters provide a welcome change. Not only that but they're surprisingly affordable (around 70p per oyster) and most fishmongers will even open them for you - so very little effort is required.

You can serve them au natural with just a squeeze of lemon, or with a simple shallot and red wine vinegar dressing, or if you fancy, you can add a few more flavours.

One of my favourites is a Japanese twist. I made these yesterday for Marc with a dressing made of soy sauce, sushi vinegar and grated ginger. I also topped them with a touch of very finely chopped cucumber and spring onion and a little dot of wasabi. Perfection.

A couple of months ago, we went to an oyster tasting event at Wrights Bros, Soho. Have a lookhere for some more oyster inspiration.